Surgical appliance



April 12, 9 A. B. KENDRICK 1,853,903

' SURGICAL APPLIANCE Filed Feb; 24, 1931 INVENT OR M5. KMM K ARTHUR B. xnnnnrox, OF EAST mm pliance so fabric and comprises a Patented Apr. 12 1932 STATES T NT OFFICE E, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES B.

IKENDRICK 60., INC OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPOBATION- OF PENNSYLVANIA SURGICAL ALEPLIANCE Application filed February .24, 1931. Serial No. 517,707.

This invention relates toimprovements in surgical appliances and the art or method of producing the same. V v

The particular appliance to which the in= vention relates is designed to be worn upon the foot and leg of a person suffering from varicose veins and other infirmities requiring surgical treatment. It is formed of knit section and has a heel opening in the rear-' ward portion thereof between the sections.

Heretofore difficulty has been experienced in producing the desired fashioning in these appliances to enable them to readily adapt themselves to the parts upon which they are The invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts and in the novel art of producing the appliance hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention,

Figure 1 is a side view of a seamless tube of knit fabric of the kind used in constructing my improved appliance.

Figure 2 is a top view thereof. Figure 3 is a side view of the tube shown in Fig. 1, after a transverse out has been made therein. 1

Figure 4 is a view of a strip of knit fabric used in constructing my improved appliance. Figure 5 is a View of a portion of knit fabric like the fabric forming the tube shown in Fig. 1 and the strip shown in Fig. 4:.

Figure 6 is a side View of my improved surgical appliance constructed from the parts shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

' In constructing my appliance as shown in Fig. 6, I provide a tube 2 of seamless knit leg section and a foot fabric, transversely extending elastic strands incor: porated therein. I

The fabric of illustrated in Fig. 5 wherein 3designates the stitches of the knit fabric and ithe elastic strands located in enclosures formed by the knitfabric. V

The tube 2 is produced on a circular knitting machine in the usual 'inanner, well known in this art, and, in the drawings ,1

as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, having I loop'sof the stitches 8 of the thread of the the tube is like the fabric have indicated by broken lines in certain parts the direction and directions of the elastlC' strands incorporated in the knit fabric.];

\Vhen the tube 2 is produced, an expanded portion 6 is fashioned therein by varying the lengths of the loops forming the stitches of the knit fabric in the usual well known manner. c

After the tube 2 has been produced, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I make a transverse cut 7 in the expanded portion 6 thereof, as I '1 This cut extends through shown in Fig. 3.

rearward layers of thefabthe forward and ric of position somewhat beyond the center ofthe tube, as illustrated.

The cut 7 produces a appliance between the cut leg'section 8 for the and the'top of the tube and afoot section 9 for the appliance betweenthe cut and the bottom of the tube. The bottom edge 10'of the leg section 8 at the cut 7 and the top edge 11 of the foot section 9, at the out 7 are finished in the usual manner as practiced in this art. 7

The strip of knit fabric 12, shown in Fig. 4, is rectangular in shape and of a length equal to the full length of the edge 10 of the leg section 8 produced by the cut 7 andofa width considerably less than one-half of the f full length of the edge 11 of the foot s'ection'9 pro duced by the cut 7. 1 The elastic strands incorporated in the knit fabric of the'strip 12 shown in Fig. 4, extend longitudinally therein, as indicated by the broken lines. This strip 12 may beproduced in any desired manner. In order that the fabric of the strip 12 may be as near likethe fabric of the tube 2 as possible, I prefer to the tube from one side thereof to a form the strip from a section of tubular fabric produced on a circular knitting machine by cutting the strip from the section thus produced and finishing the longitudinal and end edges thereof in the usual manner as practiced in this art.

Having produced the tube 2 with the cut 7 therein, as shown in Fig. 3, and the strip 12, as shown in Fig. 4, I form an insert 13 of the strip 12 by opening the cut 7 and placing the strip 12 therein. In placing the strip 12 within the opened cut 7 to form the insert 13, I attach one longitudinal edge portion 14 of the strip 12 or insert 13 to the edge 10 of the leg section 8 throughout the entire length of the edge 14 by sewing the edges together, and I attach the end edges 15 of the strip 12 or insert 13 to the respective sides of the edge 11 of the foot section by sewing the edges together, and thereby produce the finished appliance shown in Fig. 6. In thus producing the finished appliance, I produce a pronounced bend in theuncut side of the tube 2 opposite to the side having the cut 7 therein 7 which provides the desired fashioning of the appliance and also provides a construction in which no seams are present in the forward portion of the device throughout the length thereof, and in which the insert provides, in effect, an extension of the rearward portion of the leg section 8 well down into the opened cut 7 for the engagement of the appliance with the wearer thereof in the region of the back of the heel, while the space between the longitudinal edge 16 of the strip 12 or insert 13 and the exposed portion of the edge 11 of the foot section 9 provides an opening for the reception of the lower portion of the heel of the wearer. I'claim as my invention:

, 1. A surgical appliance comprising a leg section, a foot section and an insert between portions thereof, said sections being constructed from a continuous, seamless tube of knit fabric having transversely extending elastic strands incorporated therein and having a transverse cut in the rearward portion thereof separatingthe adjacent portions of saidsections and providing a heel opening for the appliance, said insert comprising a strip of knit fabric having longitudinally extending strands incorporated therein and being located within said cut with the elastic strands of the insert extending substantially parallel to the adjacent elastic strands of the leg section and substantially at right angles to the adjacent elastic strands of the foot section said insert having one of its longitudin-al-edges attached to the leg section and said insert having its end edges attached to the sides of the foot section.

2. The art of producing a surgical appliance of the character described, which consists in providing a seamless tube ofknit fabric having transversely extending elastic strands incorporated therein, making a transverse cut parallel to the elastic strands in one side of the tube and thereby producing a leg section between the cut and one end of the tube and a foot section between the cut and the other end of the tube, providing an insert strip of knit fabric having longitudinally extending elastic strands incorporated therein, attaching one of the longitudinal edges of the insert strip to the leg section edge produced by the cut with the elastic strands of the insert strip extending substantially parallel to the elastic strands of the leg section and attaching the end edges of the insert strip to the sides of the foot section edge produced by the cut with the elastic strands of the insert strip extending substantially at right angles to the elastic strands of the foot section, and thereby producinga bend in the'side of the tube opposite to the cut.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR B. KENDRICK. 

